Why Do We Even Need A Vatican Ambassador?

There is likely no better imaginable day than Easter to tell the Vatican that they can go pack sand. Caroline Kennedy, the long time Obama supporter and very nearly Senator from New York, was apparently suggested as our next ambassador to the Vatican, but the Holy See finds the choice unacceptable because of Kennedy’s stated position on abortion.

Vatican sources told Il Giornale that their support for abortion disqualified Ms Kennedy and other Roman Catholics President Barack Obama had been seeking to appoint.

The Italian paper said that the Vatican strongly disapproved of Mr Obama’s support for abortion and stem cell research. The impasse over the ambassadorial appointment threatens to cloud his meeting with the Pope during a G8 summit in Itay in July.

Pardon me if take a moment to tell the Pope, “Boo Freaking Hoo.” First of all, I have no idea why Kennedy would have been interested in the post in the first place, since it’s really one of the more “nothing” positions in our government. While the State of the Vatican City is technically distinct from the Holy See, it’s not as if we’re going to be seeking their permission before we bomb Iran.

The broader point there, though, is the truly bizarre concept that foreign entities should be rejecting ambassadors because of policy differences between them and the person selected. Perhaps our ambassador to Venezuela should only be someone who supports Castro, hates America and wants Russian missile installations throughout Central and South America? Here’s an idea… let’s have an ambassador to England who wants the United States to forfeit its independence and go back to being a territory of the U.K.

A quick note to our Obama bashing pundits who are cackling with glee over this: ambassadors, by definition, are representatives of our nation and, in particular, of the positions and views of the current administration. The current administration happens to be pro-choice, and to the extent that should ever come up in discussions, they need to represent those views. All they really need is the ability to communicate well and be, well… diplomatic. They deliver messages, gather information and facilitate relations behind the scenes.

With that in mind, I would suggest to President Obama that he simply not send any additional names to the Vatican for the next year or two. Leave that office empty for a while and see if the Vatican begins to feel a bit differently about the situation. What? The world is going to end because we don’t have an ambassador to a church? Somehow I think the world will soldier on.

Or, failing that, let’s send over the Easter Bunny as our ambassador. This could serve to let us show the Pope exactly how seriously we take this. As a bonus, he/she could remind His Holiness that the word “Easter” doesn’t appear anywhere in either the New or Old Testaments.

Let me point out that the ambassador to the Vatican is not actually an ambassador to a church, but rather the ambassador to the State of the Vatican City.

CStanley

I'm so glad that we've moved beyond that belligerent cowboy mentality on international relations that dominated the last eight years.

D. E.Rodriguez

Jazz, I agree with you.

A Catholic who happens to agree with women's free choice and who happens to abhor pedophile priests

Happy Easter

DaGoat

Big deal. It's not like Obama thought he'd found the next Catholic Gandhi or something, he was just throwing Caroline a bone for being a faithful party hack and JFK's daughter.

parochus

Only an American would tell the Pope that Easter is not in the Old or New Testaments. But I'm sure that the Pope would respond to such insolent, uneducated arrogance with a knowing smile and a gentle “Buona Pasqua,” which is etymologically closer to the original Greek.

casualobserver

Does Bob Barr know that you are actually a counterfeit libertarian?…..i.e., freedom of choice as long as it conforms to your views only?

Silhouette

Having a paid government employee as a de facto sympathizer to a religion is clear violation of the Constitutional provisions of separation of church and state.

WTF?

HemmD

The Vatican's decision to nix Kennedy makes no sense. According to their logic, I guess the Vatican's diplomat to Nazi Germany needed to be a Nazi. Diplomats are needed because people disagree, not because they agree.

This isn't “belligerent cowboy mentality” to point out Rome's disregard of the political realities in the world. Blind obedience to the Holy See is only required by faithful Catholics, not the majority of the world who have different opinions.

http://www.newshoggers.com/ Ron Beasley

I'm with Jazz, why do we need an ambassador to a church and that's all the Vatican is. A church that has it's head burried deep into the sands of the 16th century no less.

Jim_Satterfield

Yes, I have to agree with Jazz on this one too.

archangel

I cannot find a clear attribution to C. Kennedy ever having been offered this post. It appears that John Kerry, by rumor, purportedly lobbied Obama for Kennedy to be chosen… that the Catholic spokesperson for a Catholic group, says in response to rumor, that rumor is a bad idea. I cant find a reference to the Pope saying anything about this rumor. And. Well….

Jazz suggests Easter Bunny, he must be on to something… maybe Easter Bunny could also be Ambassador to Somalia and to Buhtan, Tibet and Burma, to Zimbabwe and Haiti… the bunny bespeaking of warmth and gentleness, not to mention causing little harm. And besides, every Easter bunny I've ever seen comes equipped with this weapon: plenty of Peeps a/k/a known as 'death by sugar' if necessary.

On a serious note, I'd like to wish you all, Feliz Pascua, Blessed Easter, blessed return of the Light

dr.e

ordinarysparrow

These are all great comments and each one of them was like a sweet bunny egg. . .hope all have a great sunny day. . .

river

MBos

A baby killer supporter shouldn't be selected as an ambassador. But when the oval office now has one…

fuckliberals

All you little heathens just get gitty and giggle like schoolgirls whenever you get to relish all the babies Satan eats.